The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Agricultural production requires significant strategy and analysis. In many cases, agricultural growers, such as farmers or others involved in agricultural cultivation, are required to analyze a variety of data to make strategic decisions before and during the crop cultivation period. In making such strategic decisions, growers rely on spatial information related to intra-field properties to determine crop yields and potential quality of crops. For example, spatial information of soil properties is an important tool to understanding agricultural ecosystems, which can provide information related to healthy soils, adequate nutrient supply for crops, preventing losses of sediments and nutrients from soil, and evaluating the transfer of elements such as carbon from the soil into the atmosphere.
Measuring spatial variability of intrafield properties has traditionally been accomplished through field grid sampling. For example, measuring spatial variability of soil properties is typically accomplished through field grid sampling of soil, where farmers collect soil samples every 1 to 2.5 acres. Those samples are then analyzed to determine different soil properties such as nitrogen, phosphorus and/or potassium levels. This soil analysis procedure is labor intensive, time consuming, and economically expensive.